[sib-access] Here's one from the Sibelius Blog worthy of addition to Dave's collection
- From: "Kevin Gibbs" <kevjazz@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: <sib-access@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 25 Jan 2010 17:50:05 -0600
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Dave,
If you ever do large scores, you'll need what's in here:
=20
Unleash the power of text wildcards
<http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/sibeliusblog/~3/1hJEzeMXIEw/?utm_source=3D=
feed
burner&utm_medium=3Demail> =20
Posted: 25 Jan 2010 03:00 AM PST
<http://www.sibeliusblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/wildcard.png>=20
Sibelius includes some simple but powerful features for working with =
text
wildcards. Wildcards are text tokens that are automatically substituted =
with
text from elsewhere. They're useful for situations where you want the =
same
information to be shown in lots of different places, allowing you to =
change
that information once and have it updated automatically everywhere else; =
and
they're also useful for showing different information in the same place
automatically.
(Fun fact: in the Italian-language version of Sibelius, wildcards are =
called
"jolly", which is the Italian word for "joker", as in the playing card!)
After the jump, learn some techniques for using wildcards to their best
advantage.
How wildcards work
In Sibelius, a wildcard is simply entered in text. Wildcards are things =
like
\$Title\, which corresponds to the Title field in File > Score Info. =
When
you're editing the text, and the cursor is flashing, you see the =
wildcard
itself: when you stop editing the text, the wildcard is replaced with =
the
value to which the wildcard refers, which might be information from =
Score
Info, the page number, the current date, your username, and so on.
Try this out: in any score, type Ctrl+T or Command-T to create some
Technique text, then type:
My name is \$User\ and it is now \$Time\ on \$DateLong\
then hit Esc. Cool, huh?
What wildcards are there?
Most of the fields in File > Score Info can be used as wildcards, =
including:
* \$Title\=20
* \$Subtitle\=20
* \$Composer\=20
* \$Arranger\=20
* \$Artist\=20
* \$Copyright\=20
* \$PartName\=20
* \$InstrumentChanges\=20
* \$Lyricist\=20
* \$Copyist\=20
* \$Publisher\=20
* \$Dedication\=20
* \$OpusNumber\=20
* \$ComposerDates\=20
* \$YearOfComposition\=20
* \$MoreInfo\=20
There is also a bunch of other wildcards for useful things like the time =
and
date:
* \$DateShort\: the current short date in the format chosen by your
operating system's regional settings (e.g. dd:mm:yyyy)=20
* \$DateLong\: the current long date in the format chosen by your
operating system's regional settings (e.g. dd MMMM yyyy)=20
* \$Time\: the current time in the forma thh:mm:ss (24hour)=20
* \$User\: the username of the person currently logged on to this
computer=20
* \$FilePath\: the filename and path of the current score. (This will
not work until a score has been saved.)=20
* \$FileName\: the filename of the current score without its path.
(This will not work until a score has been saved.)=20
* \$FileDate\: the date and time that the score was most recently
saved, in the format stipulated by your system's locale (e.g. dd MM yyyy
hh:mm:ss)=20
* \$PageNum\: the current page number.=20
So what can you do with wildcards? Here are four suggestions.
1. Set up your perfect manuscript paper
Sibelius's default manuscript papers don't use wildcards for things like =
the
title, composer text, and so on, because they can be a bit of a surprise =
if
you're not expecting them: imagine never having heard of wildcards, and
double-clicking a bit of text that says something like Sonata in A to =
edit
it, only for it to promptly turn into \$Title\. If you're of a =
particularly
sensitive disposition, you might need a bit of a lie down afterwards.
But if you're made of slightly sterner stuff, you can use wildcards to =
your
advantage. If you have particular preferences about the fonts, sizes and
positions of the title on the first page, composer name, headers, and so =
on,
you can set up your preferences using House Style > Edit Text Styles and
House Style > Default Positions, then create the wildcards in your score =
for
things like title, composer, lyricist, and so on.
Now save your score as a manuscript paper via File > Export > Manuscript
Paper and when you create your next masterpiece using this manuscript =
paper,
the Title, Composer, etc. will all be filled in using the values you =
provide
on the final page of File > New or via File > Score Info.
2. Create an instrumentation page
Works for large ensembles often contain a page at the start of the score
that lists the instrumentation used. It's easy enough to add this =
yourself
by hand, but what if you add or remove instruments from your score? You =
have
to keep it up-to-date.
Wildcards make this easier and more automatic. First, create one or more
blank pages at the start of the score: if you already have a title page,
select the initial barline at the start of bar 1 and choose Layout > =
Break >
Special Page Break. In the dialog that appears, set Number of blank =
pages to
2 and click OK. If your score doesn't already have a title page, choose
Create > Title Page, set Number of blank pages to 2, and click OK.
On the second blank page, use Create > Text > Blank Page Text > Plain =
text,
centered (on blank page) to create some blank page text, then type:
\$InstrumentChanges\
and hit Esc. Magically, the wildcard is replaced by a list of all of the
instruments used in the score.
3. Set up a custom print footer
Sibelius has a built-in feature for printing various bits of useful
information at the bottom of the page, so that you can keep track of
different versions on the bits of paper scattered around your desk. If
you're not familiar with that feature, the options for what should be
printed are on the Files page of Preferences, and the Print date and =
time
footer option itself is in the File > Print dialog.
If you find the automatic choices a little inflexible, you can create =
your
own customised footer using regular text and, of course, a couple of
wildcards. For example, try Create > Text > Other System Text > Footer
(inside edge), then type this:
Filename: \$FilePath\ Last modified: \$FileDate\
Now you will see the complete path to your file, and the date it was =
last
saved, on the inside bottom corner of every page of your score.
4. Customise your headers
By default, Sibelius creates a header at the top of every page that says
Full score in the score, and shows the name of the instrument in the =
dynamic
parts. This is done by way of the wildcard \$HeaderPartName\, which
corresponds to the Part name field in Score Info.
If you want to customise the headers in your score, it's easy to do with =
the
addition of some further wildcards. Make sure View > Hidden Objects is
switched on, then double-click the existing header in your score. You'll =
see
a message asking you whether you want to go to Score Info to edit the =
value
used by the wildcard: click No. Now edit the text as follows:
\$PageNum\ - \$Title\ - \$HeaderPartName\
and hit Esc. You can switch off the page numbers in the outside top =
corners
of the page by going to Create > Other > Page Number Change, choosing =
Hide
page numbers, and clicking OK. Click at the top of the first page to =
hide
the automatic page numbers and show the ones in your customised header.
Have any tips of your own?
If you have any interesting use of wildcards in Sibelius, leave them in =
the
comments for the benefit of other users.
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